Setting Goals and Sticking to Them

Now that we are rounding out the first week of 2017, have you been sticking to your resolutions?

Trust me I know there are a lot of distractions, from the Chris Brown vs Soulja Boy drama *insert eye roll* to Yahoo getting real friendly with words and we can’t escape the political circus. Listen, the struggle is real out in these streets. Now I don’t necessarily believe in New Year’s resolutions because let’s face it we always find a reason to short change ourselves when it comes to personal development and growth. Every year you hear “new year, new me” but in reality we continue the same old habits that keep the same resolutions on our list year after year- just like clockwork.

I’ve hit this same wall before so I thought LONG and hard about how I would handle 2017. Would I make a list of bad habits to break again, scribble down my resolutions from last year, or just not do anything and play it by ear. I read some time ago on another blog about the idea of breaking the year up into quarters, similar to businesses and schools. Here let me break it down for you.

12 months x 4 quarters x 3 months per quarter= 1 Successful Year!

At first I didn’t understand how that was any different than anything else I had done before, but after really considering the idea it all made sense to me. Why not set goals at 3 month intervals throughout the year. Tackling the easiest goals first or what I like to think of as the “foundation blocks”. This makes resolutions super attainable, because you aren’t overwhelmed at the start of the year. You give yourself 3 months to reach various goals in the areas that are most important to you; just be sure to set a realistic amount of goals each month so that you can make progress. The goals that you don’t accomplish at the end of the 3 months you carry to the next quarter until you complete it. Simple, right? I think it’s a good idea for this 1st quarter to attack the easier goals that way you give yourself a bit of momentum as you enter into the 2nd quarter. I don’t know about you but the more I accomplish, the more motivated I am to keep going until I am the master of my domain.

I started this 1st quarter off with about 25 goals categorized across 6 areas of my life that I want to improve. For me the important areas are: My business ventures, health and fitness, self-improvement, professional development, financial health, and my social life. My goals for the first 3 months of the year are simple and things that will ultimately make my 2nd quarter goals doable. By setting the foundation early I am able to build throughout the year until eventually I reach my primary goal for 2017.

Here is a sample of how my 1st quarter goals are set:
(this is not my full list, but just an idea of what I’m working on in the 1st quarter)

Health/FitnessAim to lose 20 pounds over the next 3 months (10lbs a month)
Create a food plan with healthy meals
Aim to be out of bed by 6:30am on weekdays and by 8am on weekends

Self-ImprovementCreate a vision board
Read at least 3 books (1 each month)
Learn something new and write about it

ProfessionalTake on new projects at work outside of my assigned role
Participate in more events at work to network and gain exposure

FinancialCreate a savings plan to pay off credit card

SocialTake a trip for at least 3 days/nights somewhere outside of home
Aim to try something new each weekend (food, activities, etc.)

As you can see these goals aren’t too difficult, but still require work and effort on my part to accomplish. Start slow and build as the year unfolds, by 2nd quarter I will be able to create new goals that are a direct result of successfully accomplishing my 1st quarter goals. Build, Grow, Succeed, and Repeat! I hope that this inspires you to take a new approach to reaching your goals in 2017. Anything is possible, often times we focus so much on what we want but we never think about how we are going to get it. I’ve always been taught that if you fail to plan you are planning to fail. If you take time to really think about your overall yearly goals and break them up into bite sized pieces by creating a plan, I truly believe you will find yourself crossing goals off your list quicker than you ever have before!

It’s only the end of the first week of the new year and I’ve already checked off 6 goals from my list and I’m ready to tackle the rest. I wish you major success in the 1st quarter of 2017.

2 comments

Thanks! I wish you all the best on your goals for 2017! Let me know how this approach works for you. So far, I’ve been doing great with tackling my 1st quarter goals. Success is on the horizon, keep going!